


I Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way

by Ignisentis



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Non-explicit reference to oral sex, Soft boys being soft, Steve has a bad day and Bucky is soft with him, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-04-07
Packaged: 2020-01-06 02:12:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,030
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18378830
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ignisentis/pseuds/Ignisentis
Summary: Bucky wakes slowly and rolls toward Steve, throwing his arm out so he can tug him close and soak in his warmth as he drifts off again.Except his arm hits nothing but cold sheets. Confused, Bucky pushes himself up and blinks the sleep out of his eyes. No, Steve definitely isn’t there.~~~~Steve has a bad day, and Bucky gets to be soft with him that night.





	I Wouldn’t Have It Any Other Way

**Author's Note:**

  * For [paperstorm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/paperstorm/gifts).



> This is for Paperstorm, who slid into my DMs last week and made me FEEL THINGS, so now how the turns have tabled.
> 
> Unbeta’d and late-night phone edited, so if you see errors, you can kindly point them out and I’ll fix it. 
> 
> Title from Mumford & Sons “Slip Away,” which no one will convince me is anything but a Stucky song told from Bucky’s POV.

Bucky wakes slowly and rolls toward Steve, throwing his arm out so he can tug him close and soak in his warmth as he drifts off again.

Except his arm hits nothing but cold sheets. Confused, Bucky pushes himself up and blinks the sleep out of his eyes. No, Steve definitely isn’t there. Bucky sits up fully and pokes around for his cellphone, knocking an empty glass off the nightstand with a curse. The glass hits the carpet and doesn’t break, thankfully.

Phone finally in hand, he checks the time; 2:37. Where the hell is Steve? Bucky stretches and scratches his stomach before blearily making his way out of the bedroom and down the hall.

The pendant light over the kitchen table is the only light on, so Bucky heads in that direction, not bothering to soften his steps. He finishes a yawn before he reaches the kitchen and stops in the doorway.

Steve is sitting at the table, hunched over some mission reports, his shoulders tense. Bucky’s not sure if it’s from the reports or from hearing him walk down the hallway, but he has a feeling it’s a bit of both.

The mission had been a bit of a shitshow, and some innocent people had died, and Steve had taken it hard, like he always does. Bucky had kissed him and held him tight and then given him some space, their post-mission routine when things go wrong. But usually Steve comes to bed, so this is uncharted territory, and Bucky isn’t quite sure what to do. He knows what he wants to do but isn’t sure if Steve will be amenable.

Bucky sidles up behind Steve and wraps an arm around his chest as he buries his nose into Steve’s hair, inhaling deeply. Bucky feels Steve tense up initially, but he relaxes into the touch when Bucky doesn’t say anything. Bucky noses down to Steve’s neck behind his ear and slowly, delicately, traces the skin there with the tip of his nose. Steve sighs and brings his hand up to grasp Bucky’s forearm as he leans his head forward slightly to give Bucky better access.

Bucky smiles and gives Steve’s neck a little kiss before going back to nosing at Steve’s neck. Steve sighs again, his breath turning ragged and his shoulders shuddering. Bucky squeezes his arm tighter, and Steve does so in kind, and Bucky lets him cry in silence, the noise of skin gently dragging on skin the only counterpoint to Steve’s breathing.

When Steve’s shoulders stop shaking, Bucky comes around Steve’s chair and seats himself in Steve’s lap. He cups Steve’s face and uses his thumbs to wipe away the tear tracks softly before kissing the moist skin of his cheeks. Steve whimpers and opens his eyes, tipping his head forward until his forehead touches Bucky’s. He closes his eyes again, and Bucky starts running his flesh hand through Steve’s hair and rubbing at the base of his neck.

“Come to bed,” Bucky whispers eventually. “Come lie with me and wrap yourself around me and put your hand over my chest to feel my heart beating. I’m alive, and I’m warm, and I’m here with you. Let that be enough for tonight.”

Steve nods, and Bucky climbs off his lap and pulls Steve to his feet. He wraps an arm around Steve and guides him to their bedroom. Steve’s a bit wobbly still, so Bucky sits him down on the edge of the bed and peppers his face with soft kisses as he unbuttons Steve’s shirt and throws it blindly toward the hamper. Steve falls back when Bucky gently pushes on his shoulder and gets to work pulling off his pants.

Steve grunts a little once he’s undressed, and Bucky smiles at him in the dark of the room.

“Yeah, honey? You want that?” Steve grunts again, and Bucky huffs out a soft laugh.

“Okay, sweetheart. You just lie back and let me take care of you, huh?”

Steve sighs as Bucky pulls off his boxers and uses his mouth to take him apart.

Bucky wakes again slowly, but this time Steve is wrapped around him, and it’s well into the morning. They’re both usually awake by now, but clearly Steve needs the rest, so Bucky is loath to move. He tucks his head up next to Steve’s and daydreams for a while until he feels Steve wake beside him.

“Hey, gorgeous,” Bucky says as he cards his fingers through Steve’s hair. “How you feeling this morning?”

“Better,” Steve croaks, his voice thick with disuse. Bucky hums at him. Back to verbal. That’s a good sign.

“Thank you for…” Steve trails off and shifts so he’s closer to Bucky, burying his head in the crook of Bucky’s neck. Bucky moves his arm so Steve can get comfortable and starts stroking his hand up and down Steve’s back and arm, wherever he can reach.

“Shh, you don’t gotta thank me, baby. You know I love it when you let me be sweet to you.” Steve hums at that.

They’re both silent a while, Bucky stroking up and down Steve’s back. He thinks maybe Steve’s fallen asleep again but decides to tell him anyway.

“I used to fantasize about this before, you know.”

“About cuddling?” Steve asks. Ah. Not asleep, then.

“No,” Bucky huffs. “About you letting me be sweet to you, letting me take care of you. Not because you needed it but because I wanted to.”

Steve hums and waits for Bucky to continue.

“I know how much you hated it back then, how you thought it made you weak or something. How it chafed at you till it rubbed your heart raw. But it’s not weak to need me, Steve, or to let me care for you. To let me love you. You’re so good at taking care of me now. It’s good to let me do the same for you sometimes, okay? I want to.”

“Okay,” Steve whispers into Bucky’s shoulder.

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I’ll try, I will. Last night was...it was good, Buck. It was real good.”

Bucky smiles and kisses the side of Steve’s forehead. “I’m glad, sweetheart. I’m glad.”

  



End file.
